Mumbai: upGrad, one of Asia’s largest integrated skilling and lifelong learning majors, has announced the appointment of Ferzad Palia to head its newly launched Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) initiative. This marks a significant step in the company’s evolution as it expands into on-demand, always-on skilling solutions for India’s next-gen learners.
Having built a strong consumer base through university programs, industry certifications, and study abroad offerings, upGrad is now focusing on building a digital-first ecosystem. The D2C skilling vertical, under Palia’s leadership, will leverage micro-learning formats, AI-powered personalization, and scalable access to make learning more continuous, contextual, and consumer-centric.
“This strengthens our mission to own the entire learning journey and turns skilling into a household habit, not just a job-switch trigger,” said Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder and Chairperson, upGrad. “Ferzad’s deep expertise in building high-scale, high-engagement platforms will help us unlock a wider segment.”
Palia brings over 25 years of experience across consumer tech, media, and advertising. Most recently, he served as Senior EVP at JioStar (formerly Viacom18), where he played a key role in scaling JioCinema. He also led various businesses at Viacom18, including Direct-to-Consumer, International Distribution, and the Youth, Music & English portfolio.
Commenting on his new role, Palia said, “The opportunity to transform India’s upskilling and learning landscape at scale is an exciting mandate. upGrad’s solid foundation and outcome-driven approach makes this journey even more compelling.”
